THE CRANE-Fires oF New York — Part [| 883 
KEYS TO THE CRANE-FLIES OF NORTHEASTERN NORTH AMERICA 
The species of crane-flies found in northeastern North America are 
included in four families, which may be separated according to the 
following key: 
1. Five branches of the radius reaching the wing margin; a single anal vein 
TANYDERIDAE (p. 883) 
Less than five branches of the radius reaching the wing margin; one or two 
MAM OAS. o o'c 0 Bele oR Uae Ota us echt BUDO le Cee Pee A175 ease ascent io aN Breet 2 
2, Creal pressint «3 SOS eee eRe eer eka a RHYPHIDAE (p. 886) 
RO Collimlarcksim cwprree ne Nievatses cosa et ees ota a Siesta Sinsind ons dike wrautie ce Suede lS aida tesa ne lobe ie 3 
2. A siimnelle anil] Aerie ee renee cee eee ero PTYCHOPTERIDAE (p. 884) 
Two anal veins (both running to the wing margin in all North American species; in some 
Old World forms the first anal vein fused with the second cubitus for a distance back- 
st el MEROTVTR ITE RLT ID Pema n wees Aa dnc. eat a ee eN Ne TIPULIDAE (p. 889) 
Famity Tanyderidae 
The remarkable primitive family Tanyderidae includes but two living 
genera — Tanyderus, of the antipodal regions, and Protoplasa, of the 
United States. 
Genus Protoplasa Osten Sacken 
1859 ProtoplasaO.S. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., p. 252. 
There are but two species of Protoplasa. The eastern species, P. 
fitchii, is discussed below. ‘The western species, P. vzpio, ranges from 
Colorado to California. 
Protoplasa fitch O.8. 
1859 Protoplasa fitchii O.S. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., p. 252. 
The species Protoplasa fitchit is of medium size and bears a curious 
superficial resemblance to the common tipulid Epiphragma fascipennis. 
It is a very rare insect, there being scarcely a score of specimens 
in the various collections, most of them from the Adirondacks of New 
York State and the Black Mountains of North Carolina. The fly is 
brownish gray, the wings being marked with an ocellate pattern of spots 
and bands (Plate XXX, 1). The anal angle of the wing, which is almost 
square, is very prominent. The immature stages are unknown but the 
writer surmises that they occur in wet wood in the same situations as the 
larvae and pupae in the genus Epiphragma. 
